Traction devices for extricating a vehicle from mud holes, sand traps and snow banks are wide and varied. Many of these devices involve placing some sort of flat traction surface beneath the wheel of a vehicle, wherein the stuck vehicle climbs up on the traction surface, thereby extricating the vehicle from its predicament. A problem can arise when the traction surface becomes overloaded with mud, especially mud having a high clay content, which tends to fill up and stick to a traction surface. Once filled, a traction surface loaded with high-clay mud can become as slick as the mud surface itself, rendering the traction surface useless.
Therefore, a need exists for a traction device which resists becoming overloaded with mud, snow, or other slippery surface material. Further, a need exists for a traction device which is resistant to becoming overloaded with persistent sticky surface materials, such as high clay mud. Should such a device become overloaded, it should be able to be easily cleared of persistent surface materials and be easily put back into service. Also, preferably, this device would be easily portable and be able to be compactly loaded and stored in a vehicle until such time that it is needed.
The foregoing reflects the state of the art of which the inventor is aware, and is tendered with a view toward discharging the inventor's acknowledged duty of candor, which may be pertinent to the patentability of the present invention. It is respectfully stipulated, however, that the foregoing discussion does not teach or render obvious, singly or when considered in combination, the inventor's claimed invention.